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The Breakup Trend
May Not Be Good
For Small Investors

By

James B. Stewart

Updated Jan. 18, 2006 12:01 a.m. ET

The market has responded harshly to Tyco International's plan, announced Friday, to split into three separate companies. Viacom's recently completed spinoff of CBS hasn't met with much enthusiasm, either. Still, investor Carl Icahn is pressing to break up Time Warner, and other big spinoffs and divestitures are in the works.

I've written before about mergers, which tend to be more common and generate more investment opportunities. The current bidding war for Guidant is a good example. Who would've guessed the recall-tarred...